Bette J. Engle, 94

Bette J. Engle, 94, passed away Saturday, May 6, 2017, in Kalispell.

Bette was born April 11, 1923, in Des Moines, Iowa. She grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, and attended Morningside College there. She was on the debate team and was reportedly a great dancer.

Although they were engaged before World War II, she married Bill Engle in 1946 after he returned from serving during the war as a navigator in the Air Force. Together they moved to Michigan. There she worked as a departmental assistant at the University of Michigan and later at Michigan State while raising two daughters, Jerret Ann and Christianne Kay.

Bette and Bill chose to retire to Kalispell in 1984, and spent the happiest years of their lives in the Flathead Valley.

Bette was an active member of St. Matthew’s, and loved square dancing and hiking in Glacier Park. She gave her daughters an enthusiasm for life and a love of adventure for which they will always be grateful.

She is survived by her much beloved husband, William James, and their two daughters, Jerret Ann and husband Cort Tramontin of Brooklyn, New York, and Christianne Banford and her husband David Banford of London, England.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12:10 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at St. Matthew’s Church in Kalispell. A brief committal service will follow immediately at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Glacier Memorial Gardens.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for the family.